Chapter 130 : A Surprise

Chapter 130: A Surprise

Early the next morning, at the sect’s main peak.

Long Tao had worked through an entire day and night, finally completing all the tasks Shi Manyu had assigned.

Although as a Qi-Refining Sixth Layer cultivator, staying up all night was nothing remarkable for him, there had simply been too many matters to handle—he had not even been able to squeeze out a moment to slack off or loaf around.

He had barely taken two steps after pushing open his door when he saw Senior Brother Bonade drinking tea in the corridor.

“Senior Brother Bo, I’ve finished all my work. I’m heading over to the True Person now.”

“So fast? Sigh… I’m miserable by comparison.

I’ll probably be busy until noon,” Bonade replied.

Unlike Long Tao, Senior Brother Bonade, as Shi Manyu’s personally transmitted disciple, had to deal with far more of the sect’s core affairs—some of which even involved relatively confidential matters.

Just as Long Tao was about to take his leave, he suddenly thought of the new friend his younger sister had made at the Disciple Recruitment Ceremony—the girl named Jiang Wuyun.

She claimed to come from a Lower Realm where almost no one possessed spiritual roots, which in itself was nothing special.

But she had also said something rather shocking: in that world, no one’s name could contain the character “Dragon.” That was simply absurd.

Did that mean his entire family would drop dead the moment they went there?

Although he would never actually go to that place in this lifetime, out of sheer curiosity he decided to ask anyway.

“By the way, Senior Brother Bo,” he leaned in slightly and lowered his voice, “does our sect manage quite a few Small Worlds?”

Bonade, who had just taken a sip of tea, did not show the seriousness or wariness Long Tao had expected.

Instead, he responded quite naturally.

“Oh? You’re interested in that sort of thing now? Makes sense… For ordinary disciples, Small Worlds are indeed rather novel places. But honestly, they’re just like that. After visiting once, there’s not much interest left. Besides, most Small Worlds have thin spiritual energy—going there can even affect cultivation.”

He took another sip, then spoke after a moment’s consideration.

“The sect doesn’t control that many—probably only a dozen or so. As for the exact number, I’m not really sure myself. Some of the clearance levels are too high; only the elders know. There are even a few that only the True Lords are aware of.”

“I see. I thought they were all extremely confidential.”

“Not really.” Bonade laughed.

“It’s just that, to avoid affecting most people’s cultivation, the sect doesn’t let ordinary disciples come into contact with them much, so they seem mysterious. If you really want to go, you can submit an application right now and visit a few unrestricted Small Worlds. By the way, why did you suddenly ask about this?”

So Long Tao told Bonade about the girl named Jiang Wuyun, and Bonade showed a look of sudden realization.

“Oh! I know now. That world is what we call the Dragon-Taboo Realm. Because of that curse, the sect investigated it for quite a long time but never found anything conclusive. However, that Small World has very thin spiritual energy, and its residents almost all lack spiritual roots, so no one paid it much attention. Still… hahahaha… for someone surnamed Long, it’s perfectly normal to be concerned.”

“Even the sect’s Golden Core cultivators couldn’t find anything?” Long Tao asked in surprise.

That curse sounded pretty terrifying.

“It’s not Golden Core cultivators. The cultivation ceiling of that Small World is only mid-stage Foundation Establishment. Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators would have to suppress their cultivation if they went there, or else they’d be rejected by the world’s will. So it’s always Foundation Establishment disciples who are stationed there.”

“There’s something like that?”

“Yes. No matter how small a world is, its internal laws can’t be defied by human strength. In fact, in a Small World like that—with thin spiritual energy and no heavenly treasures—even a Qi Refining cultivator like you can apply to go. Because very few people are willing to go there, they’re always short on Foundation Establishment stewards.”

“Then forget it. I don’t want to get cursed to death the moment I arrive.”

“Hahaha, indeed.”

……

After bidding farewell to Bonade, Long Tao carried a stack of dossiers and documents into Shi Manyu’s room.

This time, he was surprised to see that she was not handling official affairs.

Instead, she sat cross-legged, suspended in midair, seemingly just meditating.

“You’re here. Put everything on the table first.”

“Yes.”

Shi Manyu’s attitude was as usual.

She seemed almost machine-like.

Sometimes Long Tao even suspected that, compared to being a cultivator, this superior of his—who was also his teacher—might prefer to be an empress or a chancellor, even if only in a mundane little country.

“Your younger sister has already entered the sect, right?”

Long Tao had used his sister as an excuse to request leave to attend the Disciple Recruitment Ceremony, so Shi Manyu asked about it casually.

“Yes. But judging by her temperament, she probably won’t be able to endure much hardship.”

“Those who can endure hardship are few, after all.” Shi Manyu did not care much.

“So many people start out with soaring ambition, only to reveal their true colors within three months. Besides… who can say what the future holds?”

She clearly did not mind.

Standing up, she walked over to Long Tao and placed her right hand on his dantian.

“Mm, not bad. Your cultivation progress is about what I expected. At the Qi-Refining Sixth Layer stage, you’ll save at least forty percent of the time compared to ordinary Five Spiritual Roots disciples.”

“Really?!”

Hearing this, Long Tao was genuinely excited.

If things continued like this, he would most likely reach Foundation Establishment before Nan Yuchen formed his Golden Core.

Damn it! No matter how monstrous that freak’s talent was, he couldn’t possibly break through to Golden Core before thirty.

This world’s cultivation system had several stages that required slow, painstaking effort over time.

No matter how talented someone was, they still needed to be past thirty to form a Golden Core.

He and Nan Yuchen were only about two years apart in age.

With the fortuitous opportunities he had encountered recently, reaching Foundation Establishment before thirty should still be… uh… no problem… probably…

Just as his thoughts were running wild, Shi Manyu spoke again.

“By the way, speaking of that, the elders who wanted to improve cultivation methods have already achieved some results with the report you wrote earlier on the Blood-Refining Sea-Casting Method.”

“Really? They experimented with it?”

“Yes. They used prisoners from the Nether Prison.” Shi Manyu’s tone remained flat.

“Don’t ask about the specifics. It was certainly cruel. But according to them, the sect’s Qi-Guiding Art has made a major breakthrough thanks to your report. Although it won’t be turned into practical results anytime soon, they still asked me to thank you—and to give you some rewards.”

“Oh!? Wh–what are they?”

“Honestly, it’s mostly pills and the like that you can’t use right now. Although you haven’t formally taken a master, since you’re my registered disciple, I thought about it and decided it’d be better to give you something more practical—something you actually need.”

Before Long Tao could ask further, Shi Manyu took out a small pouch from her wide sleeve, slightly larger than a palm.

The pouch was patterned with cloud-radiance motifs.

At a glance, it was clearly no ordinary item.

“This is the ‘Cloud-Radiance Pouch’ crafted by True Lord Qingyu—a so-called spatial artifact. It was originally meant as a reward for Inner Sect Disciples. I’ve decided to give you one.”

At this moment, Long Tao could no longer suppress his excitement.

A spatial artifact… the thing he had dreamed of ever since coming to this world—he was actually getting it now.

At this instant, there was only one thing he wanted to say:

This… is… what… a damn… surprise… is!!

Forcing down the urge to howl at the sky, he respectfully accepted it and bowed.

“Th–thank you very much for your great favor, True Person!”

“Mm, it’s nothing.” Shi Manyu had already returned to her desk, picking up documents to read.

“After all, your workload will only increase in the future. When there are too many dossiers and documents, carrying them around will be troublesome. With this pouch, it’ll be more convenient.”

As expected, for this woman, everything was ultimately for work.